Iowa

This Iowa native is being inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame

Published

2 years ago

February 17, 2024

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An Iowa native will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame this year.

David Hilmers, born in Clinton, and Marsha Ivins will join the 107 astronauts who are part of the hall of fame with a ceremony scheduled for June 1, according to a news release.

“These two veterans of the space program have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in furthering NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery,” said Curt Brown, board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which stewards the selection process. “Both Hilmers and Ivins represent the committed spirit of exploration, bravery and teamwork that make our space program a continued success. We are proud and honored to have them join the ranks of the space pioneers recognized in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.”

Who is David Hilmers?

Born in Clinton in 1950, Hilmers considers DeWitt his hometown, according to the news release.

The Iowa native worked for NASA for 12 years, logging 493 hours in space over the course of four missions, the Des Moines Register reported in 2021.

He was selected as an astronaut in 1980, previously enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps and attending Naval Postgraduate School in California.

His roles at NASA included shuttle software testing, extravehicular activity suit development — or the kind of suit used for spacewalks, according to NASA — capsule communicator for six shuttle flights and as operating as the head of the mission development branch of the astronaut office.

Hilmers flew on several missions, including as a mission specialist on STS-51J. The Department of Defense mission marked the first flight of space shuttle Atlantis, occurring from Oct. 3-7, 1985, according to NASA.

He was also part of the 1988 mission that “returned American astronauts to space,” NASA reported, following the Challenger disaster that killed seven crew members in an explosion quickly after launch in 1986. Hilmers flew as a mission specialist.

In February 1992, Hilmers retired from NASA and as a colonel in the Marine Corps. Currently, he is a professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine, according to the news release. His involvement with space continue. He works with NASA as the exploration medicine technical lead for the Clinical Science Team.

What is the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame?

Inductees are selected by a committee of hall of fame astronauts, former NASA officials, flight directors, historians and journalists, according to the news release. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida has displays for the hall of famers that visitors can see.

See photos of other Iowans who have made it to space

Iowans have long contributed their talents and intelligence to make space exploration possible.

More: A look at the Iowans who have made it to space

These individuals include:

Clayton Anderson, who graduated from Iowa State University and completed six spacewalks by his retirement in 2013;
Laurel Clark, who was born in Ames and spent 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space aboard space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere;
Walter Cunningham, the Creston-born man who piloted the 11-day Apollo 7 flight in 1968;
Dale Gardner, who spent a total of 337 hours in space and considers Clinton his hometown;
James Kelly, the Burlington-born astronaut who piloted the space shuttle Discovery on flights STS-102 and STS-114;
George “Pinky” Nelson, who flew in several missions during the 1980s and was born in Charles City;
Loren Shriver, the Jefferson-born man who was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2008;
Peggy Whitson, who grew up in Beaconsfield and became the first woman to command the International Space Station; and
Raja Chari, the Cedar Falls astronaut who served as commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission in 2021.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

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Iowa

Addy Brown tallies triple-double as Iowa State women beat Norfolk State

Published

14 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Press Room

Addy Brown tallies triple-double as Iowa State women beat Norfolk State

AMES – As Addy Brown reached her outstretched arms over Iowa State teammate Arianna Jackson in the fourth quarter and grabbed her 10th rebound of the game, the Hilton Coliseum fans rose to their feet to cheer and celebrate a historic performance.

Brown’s fourth-quarter rebound was the final thing she needed to tally the Cyclones’ first triple-double in more than a decade. She finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as No. 18 Iowa State rolled to a 98-52 win over Norfolk State on Nov. 16.

The triple-double was Iowa State’s first since Nikki Moody accomplished the feat on Nov. 29, 2014 against Wyoming. Brown, one of Iowa State’s most versatile players, has come within striking distance in the past but couldn’t accomplish the feat until Sunday.

Brown entered the fourth quarter with nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Her teammates quickly made sure she had a shot at history, finding her for a quick basket early in the final frame. Brown then corralled a quick rebound for her ninth of the game.

No. 10 game came with a defensive rebound with 9 minutes and 5 seconds remaining, as she and Jackson went up to grab a miss. Brown, to the excitement of fans, secured it.

Shortly after, Brown checked out of the game to a giant ovation from the fans. Her teammates, waiting for her on the bench, cheered her on as well.

Audi Crooks, who poured in a single-game school record 43 points in Iowa State’s previous game, finished Sunday’s contest with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Crooks was perfect from the field, connecting on all eight of her shot attempts before checking out early in the fourth quarter.

The Cyclones improved to 5-0 for the first time since the 2022-23 season. That team went on to win a Big 12 Conference Tournament title and play in the NCAA Tournament.

But the star of the show was Brown, who connected on 5-of-9 shots from the field in 26 minutes of action. The day was a big one from start to finish for her. It began with Brown being honored prior to the start of the game for reaching the 1,000-point plateau during Iowa State’s previous contest.

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.

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USC survived a dogfight vs. Iowa — now the biggest test of Lincoln Riley’s tenure awaits

Published

1 day ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

USC survived a dogfight vs. Iowa — now the biggest test of Lincoln Riley’s tenure awaits

LOS ANGELES — As Lincoln Riley walked toward the Coliseum tunnel following USC’s gritty, 26-21 comeback win against 21st-ranked Iowa, he shared an animated embrace with Trojans offensive coordinator Luke Huard.

Riley was more fired up than usual, and understandably so. The Trojans’ physicality and toughness have been questioned ever since he took the job four years ago.

And after USC fell behind by 14 points in the first half — tied for its largest deficit of the season — it demonstrated the sort of toughness and resilience it’s often lacked during Riley’s tenure. The Trojans got off the mat after the Hawkeyes knocked them down in the first half and scored the game’s final 19 points.

fire us up coach 😤‼️ pic.twitter.com/qtLnYt8oyk
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) November 16, 2025
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“Culture win right there, man, if there ever was one,” Riley said.

Now that USC (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) survived that dogfight, all that awaits is one of the biggest games of Riley’s tenure when USC travels to eighth-ranked Oregon next week. Win and a trip to the College Football Playoff seems likely — in the 80 percent range, according to Austin Mock’s model. Lose, and the season could still be viewed as a positive step forward, if USC finishes 9-3, but that would be four years under Riley without a Playoff appearance.

On Saturday, USC narrowly defeated the same Iowa team that Oregon barely beat the week before. But the Trojans will likely enter next week’s matchup in Eugene — a place where they haven’t won since 2011 — as a considerable underdog.

On Saturday afternoon, the concerns were all on display in the first half. They resided where they usually do under Riley: on defense.

Even though rain was falling throughout the afternoon in the Coliseum, Iowa still felt confident enough to attack USC’s secondary down the field, and it had success early on. That’s with an offense that ranked 133rd nationally in passing yards per game.

Iowa had a good amount of success on the ground, too, finishing with 183 rushing yards and on a 5.5-yard average.

A team like Oregon, balanced on offense, figures to stress USC’s defense in much more significant fashion next weekend.

But give credit to the defense and coordinator D’Anton Lynn for the second-half play. The Trojans shut out Iowa over the final two quarters and have given up just six second-half points over the past three weeks.

It also did that without safeties Kamari Ramsey and Bishop Fitzgerald, who were banged up during the game.

“We just keep coming and we have all year,” Riley said. “That was a big, big time win. Team win. To come back and get that done was a really cool feeling.”

While the defense did its part, the Trojans won this game largely because they have two of the best wide receivers in the country in Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, a pair that applies a ton of pressure on opposing defenses. It’s also the reason this team has a puncher’s chance in every game it plays.

Iowa’s defense is great and entered the game ranked sixth nationally in scoring (13.7 ppg) and seventh in yards per play allowed (4.3). That’s impressive, but Lemon and Lane rendered those stats meaningless.

Lemon had receptions of 12, 24, 26 and 35 yards in the second half and caught a third-quarter touchdown. Lane had receptions of 10, 12 and 14 yards in the third quarter and drew a 15-yard pass interference penalty in the fourth.

Iowa’s defense didn’t even play that poorly. The Hawkeyes defensive backs were in good position a majority of the time. Lane and Lemon were just better, and that’s what spearheaded the comeback.

Makai Lemon isn’t the biggest dude. Catch radius is pretty small. But if it’s in the radius, it’s his. That matters, too
Kid’s a stud pic.twitter.com/DsxO3IDwgw
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— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) November 15, 2025

Lemon finished with 10 receptions (on 11 targets) for 153 yards and a touchdown. Lane had seven for 65 yards. Quarterback Jayden Maiava completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 254 yards and one touchdown. Most importantly, he protected the football, which will be key against Oregon. USC has committed costly turnovers in its two losses (at Illinois and at Notre Dame) this season.

Running back King Miller added 83 yards on the ground. And there was some good news on the injury front. Waymond Jordan, the team’s No. 1 back, didn’t play but was listed as questionable — a sign of progress after he missed the previous three games with an ankle injury sustained against Michigan.

The status of left tackle Elijah Paige, who left the game in the first half with an undisclosed injury, will be worth monitoring this week. USC’s offensive line was fine in his absence, but Oregon’s defensive front will pose a very difficult challenge.

Next week will be the biggest game USC has played since the 2022 Pac-12 title game in Riley’s first season. That was a Trojan team that overachieved after a 4-8 season the year before. Even though USC lost to Utah in Las Vegas that night, it felt as though the program would have more chances to reach the Playoff in the coming years.

Two massively underwhelming seasons followed and showed just how difficult it might be for USC to get over that hump.

The stakes next week couldn’t be higher. It’s a chance for Riley to make a statement after losing some of his shine the past few years.

Linebacker Eric Gentry is one of the few holdovers from that 2022 team that fell just short of a Playoff trip.

“It’s a one-week season,” Gentry said after beating Iowa. “So it’s win or go home right now, and there (isn’t) a go home. We’ve got to win. I think the whole team is understanding of what the culture is. Just fight to the last second, not in denial or feel like something bad is going to happen. Coach (Riley) said: ‘Don’t hope for (anything). Make it happen.’”

The odds will be against USC next week in Autzen Stadium. But these are the games Riley was brought to Los Angeles to win. Now it’s up to him and the Trojans to finally make it happen.

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